Newpark Resources Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Is this meaningful? Or just another movement?

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of oil and gas engineering and services company Newpark Resource(NYSE: NR) were jumping on Friday, gaining as much as 10% before settling back down a bit.

So what: After yesterday's close, Newpark announced fourth-quarter results. For the quarter, the company reported $195 million in revenue, up 44% from the fourth quarter of 2009, and earnings per share of $0.15 versus a break-even quarter a year ago. Both revenue and earnings topped analysts' estimates.

Now what: Full-year 2010 results were a big recovery from a dismal 2009 as revenue jumped 46% and operating profit of $78 million reversed a loss from the prior year. Wall Street sees a more sober year ahead as analysts are estimating revenue growth of 7% and earnings-per-share growth of just over 1%. However, they may be reconsidering those numbers after the company's strong fourth-quarter showing.